I just finished 'The Disaster Tourist' translated from the original in Korean. The concept and plot had so much potential but it fell short for me. I don't know if some of it got lost in translation. It was also quite short and could have actually spent more time on character development. Up next I'm reading 'Winter in Sokcho'. Translated from French but set in South Korea.
I have finished Oryx and Crake by Margeret Atwood and I loved it. Now I have to finish Three Floors, even though it's a bit emotionally draining it's really really good. Up next I have already bought The Invisibles by Pajtim Statovci.
Yes I Know! I love Margaret, there's not a single book of hers that I didn't enjoy. I need to read the other books from this trilogy and Alias Grace as soon as possible.
Finally finished my Marlon Brando bio, and I am left with a feeling of sadness for him. It makes me emotional seeing how little joy he got from his career and how little he thought of himself and his immense talent. It seems like he very rarely found the process of making movies enjoyable. I've only seen a few of his movies but he just radiates that special something that only a handful of people manage to have. He could command a scene while doing nothing more than sitting in a chair. I really admire him for giving his voice and power to the civil rights movements. A flawed and troubled man for sure, but he'd be the first to admit it and he made real efforts to find peace with himself and to make amends to the people he hurt. I was left feeling like when he died he was finally at peace. One of the most heart-breaking parts was what happened with his son Christian and daughter Cheyenne. He tried his best when it came to parenthood, that's clear, but his own traumas from childhood got in the way. Defo need something a bit lighter next.
My only complaint about Piranesi so far is that, given how perfectly paced, fiendishly plotted and beautifully written it is, I’m flying through at breakneck speed and am not ready to finish it just yet! Give me another couple hundred pages in this world, I beg. There are shades of the careful, lucid world-building of Philip Pullman at his best and the obsessive attachment you get from John Fowles at his trickiest. I love it.
Yeah this is interesting - I felt quite lukewarm to it, but I think it’s because it was building this grand picture of the world, but as soon as I learn a bit about it the book is over. I didn’t get to spend enough time with it for it to leave much of an impression on me. Barely thought about it since I put it down and I’m kind of surprised by how much buzz it’s had. I definitely plan to read Jonathan Strange at some point though. Clarke is clearly a talented author.
Finished Damon Galgut's The Promise this weekend and it felt very original and had some fantastic writing. It did feel like a slog to read, though, if I'm being honest. It took me way longer to get through than the usual book of that length. Anyone read A Passage North? I've considered reading that among the other Booker shortlists. Unfortunately not much else in the lineup looks to be grabbing my interest.
I thought The Promise was exceptional—I zipped through it—but found A Passage North a huge slog. Endless walls of text. Maybe we have opposite tastes, but there is a chance you will just find it painful. Have you read Bewilderment?
Dddd, yeah maybe I'll pass on that, then. I haven't read Bewilderment, no. Not for any particular reason, really. But maybe because the idea of immersing myself in a story of climate tragedy feels a little too real and not really like an escape.
I can't say I wasn't warned about Find Me (even in this very thread) but fucking hell it's a slog. The dad creeping on a woman half his age is nearly half the book?? Just as well the movie sequel is likely dead in the water; if it was going to be a faithful adaptation, no one would watch it.
That’s fair enough - it’s a very quick read though, and Powers is a terrific author. One of my favourite reads in recent months!
This was oddly devastating by the end? I was a mess reading the last pages ffff Going into Bewilderment this weekend to see what the fuss is all about. There goes my Powers virginity!
